Various instrument-playing apparatuses have been conventionally provided for the purpose of simultaneous play of multiple instruments by a single player. For example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2 disclose apparatuses for playing a cajon that is one type of percussion instrument. The cajon is an instrument which includes a rectangular-parallelepiped hollow box made of wood. The cajon has: the front surface serving as a striking surface, the backside of which strings and bells are attached to; and the rear surface to which a circular aperture called a sound hole is provided. A player sits down on the upper surface of the cajon placed on the floor, and plays the cajon by slapping the front surface (upper surface or side surfaces, depending on the situation) with one or both hands. The cajon can generate various percussive tones, such as a bass sound and snare sound, depending on the portions of the striking surface to be tapped. In addition, the cajon can easily be carried. Accordingly, the cajon has been widely used as an instrument in place of a drum set, not only for performances in indoor- and outdoor-performance institutions, but also for open-air performances.
The playing apparatuses disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 both include a foot pedal disposed in a lower portion of the front surface of a cajon, and a beater attached to the foot pedal. A player steps on the foot pedal, causing the beater to strike the striking surface of the cajon in conjunction with the player's stepping. Accordingly, the cajon is played. Thus, the player can play the cajon with his/her foot, and can also play other instruments with his/her hands, at the same time.
In the aforementioned playing apparatuses, the intensity, timing, and number of times stepping on the foot pedal by a player directly determines the intensity, timing, and number of times of the striking of the striking surface of the cajon by the beater. Accordingly, it is difficult for these playing apparatuses to play a fast-paced number and an arrhythmic number even at a slow-pace. Thus, there have been limitations on the possible range of expressions for rhythmic sounds.
This problem is not limited to the cajon mentioned earlier as one example of the percussion instrument. Any instruments played by being struck on their striking surfaces, such as a drum (drum set), a conga drum, a bongo drum, a hand drum, or a Japanese drum, have similar problems.